NEW DELHI: In a strong show of solidarity with the top Indian liquor company and Uttar Pradesh-headquartered Radico Khaitan that makes prominent brands — Jaisalmer, Royal Rajasthan, 8PM, Magic Moments, Morpheus among others — while having made a worldwide name with Indian distilleries’ future against foreign entries , prominent Hindu influencers on Monday come together to denounce the recent smear campaign targeting the company’s newly launched Trikal Whisky.
Clarifying that “Trikal” only and simply means “time” in Sanskrit and carries no religious connotation in this context, the Hindu influencers stated that the name does not hurt their sentiments nor is it an attack on Hindu beliefs.
They emphasized that branding a product with a culturally rooted yet neutral term should not be misinterpreted as religious insensitivity.
The influencers sought a more balanced public discourse and stood firmly by Radico Khaitan’s decision to introduce a liquor brand with Hindi name.
A smear campaign was started by a news wire that sought comments of asection of religious leaders and right-wing organizations objected to the naming of Radico Khaitan’s Indian single malt whisky as “Trikal.”
However, the prominent Hindu influencers hit back at the news wire as well as those creating unncessary out-of-turn controversy.
Support Pours In from Right-Wing Influencers
On X (formerly Twitter), many Hindu voices defended Radico Khaitan and dismissed the outrage as manufactured and politically motivated.
@MumbaichaDon posted on X,
“TRIKĀL means Past, Present, Future — a concept of time. Just because it sounds Sanskrit doesn’t make it offensive. Don’t drag dharma into business competition.”
@BefittingFacts sarcastically commented,
“Surprise that Acharya Maharaj ji knows Radico Khaitan was founded in 1943—I had to Google it. Trikal means three phases of time and has no religious exclusivity. This feels like a paid campaign by a rival.”
@TimesAlgebraIND echoed similar concerns,
“Outrage for what? ‘Trikal’ means time. It’s not synonymous with Sanatan Dharma. This is clearly a targeted campaign against an Indian company.”
Sagar Kumar of Sudarshan News (@KumaarSaagar) stated,
“Trikal means past, present, and future—completely linked to time. It has no direct connection to Sanatan Dharma. Competitors should focus on quality, not manipulate religious emotions to attack others.”
@Nher_who mocked the outrage by posting,
“A company launched a single malt and called it ‘Trikal’. Useless babas, VHP etc. demand action citing disrespect of Shiva. Next what? Ban ‘Indri’ because it sounds like Indra? FYI, liquor is offered on Shivling in Ujjain.”
@MeghUpdates weighed in,
“Trikal means past, present and future… or morning, afternoon and evening. Actually, Trikaleshwar is one of Mahadev’s names. But is this controversy even necessary?”
Adding a sharp political angle, Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) pointed out the irony,
“Irony is that a JD(U) leader from Bihar is talking about the liquor brand name ‘Trikal’ which means 3 phases of time — past, present, future. Every year, cases of hooch tragedies are reported in Bihar, illicit liquor is flourishing. Yet, all he chose to oppose was the brand name.”
@JaikyYadav16 wrote,
“The word ‘Trikal’ means past, present, and future. It has nothing to do with Sanatan Dharma or any deity. Not everything should be linked to religion. Such attempts only manipulate people’s sentiments. Radico Khaitan is a reputed company and is being defamed without cause.”
@saket71 added a nuanced take,
“Yes, Mahadev is the master of Trikal, but the word simply means the three phases of time. Not every Sanskrit word is religious. How does this word insult dharma?”
Adding to the sarcasm, @Nher_who tweeted:
“A company launched its own single malt and called it ‘Trikal’. Useless babas, VHP etc. demand action coz they claim disrespect of Shiva 🤷🏾♂️. Next what? Ban Indri because its name resembles Lord Indra? BTW, in Ujjain, liquor is poured on Shivling as offering — so what’s the point?”
While IANS on Monday morning ran the campaign against Radico Khaitan , it’s sister company NDTV promoted the story on Trikal launch barely a day ago, raising the curious judgment by two news companies that share their parent share-holding by the Adani Group.
Adani Group is the principal share-holder of both companies.
Several Hindu influencers who came in support of Radico Khaitan also said it’s time that religion as a tool be used against business groups or companies that have helped India reach the fourth spot in rankings of global economy, bypassing Japan.
